Bringing improvements to the entire game across both gameplay and visuals, here is a quick overview of this release.

Overview

~ Monarch Butterfly ~

• Caterpillar locomotion improvements
  
• Mating minigames for male and female butterfly improved
  
• Mating interactions (snatch) made easier
  
• Mating UI improvements - cleaner and simpler
  

~ Ladybug ~

• Ladybug Lifecycle major rebalancing - it's much easier to complete now!
  
• Ladybug egg hatching SFX added
  

~ Jumping Spider ~

• New feature: Super Rushdowns! A new hunting technique for all predators - Sprint all the way upto your prey and trample them over for a "Super Rushdown".
  
• Rusdhowns fixed! A timing issue that was affecting this game mechanic has been fixed.
  
• Loading save files fixed - There was an issue that made save files of long playthroughs freeze upon load. Now fixed :)
  
• Silk Tent entry/exit state transitions fixed for certain edge cases.
  
• Tiger Beetle's ability to snatch smaller Jumping Spider instars fixed. A bug was previously preventing the beelte's strikes from landing!
  

~ Misc ~

• Feedback tool fixed. The form submission was broken earlier, but should now be working again.
  

...and various other improvements to visuals and gameplay that haven't been listed here.

For those wondering about the large download size, this update includes a game engine upgrade, visual assets for the "Red Forest Squirrel" prototype (this is not released yet) as well as a large number of improvements to the game made over the past year, but not released until now.

Looking ahead

The current goal is to resume periodic updates for the game to the point where larger updates can be taken up.

One of the larger goals is to bring the game closer to exit from Early Access by polishing the existing product further and resolving any outstanding visual or gameplay issues.

Appreciate the support of all the game's players through the past year leading up to this point of a new DoN release again :)

Though the past year has been challenging on multiple fronts, I will continue to keep building this game to the best of my abilities. I am very grateful to all of you for your goodwill, best wishes and wonderful encouragement.

Thank you so much!

- Venu
(Developer of DoN)